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Gunpowder contains compounds that act as oxidisers (Potassium Nitrate, sulphur), so that oxygen is available instantly and hence the reactants will burn in a fraction of a second. The volume of the reactants is small
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Oxidation can be understood in two ways. "The process of combining oxygen with some other substance or a chemical change in which and atom loses electrons." (www.weizmann.ac.il/safety/chgl.html) If there is a sufficient amount of oxygen in a combustion reaction, then oxides will be formed. (See Fig 1) The reaction below shows that with sufficient oxygen, carbon dioxide is produced. However in the second equation when there is limited oxygen, carbon monoxide is produced. (Fig 1) From the above equation, one can tell that carbon has been oxidised as its oxidation state has increased from 0 to +4. This reaction happens with most elements including sulphur and potassium and could lead to other compounds being formed, like Potassium Nitrate. Gunpowder contains compounds that act as oxidisers (Potassium Nitrate, sulphur), so that oxygen is available instantly and hence the reactants will burn in a fraction of a second. The volume of the reactants is small and confined to...
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